Cold Case Fugitive Wanted for Crimes Against Children in Northern California Arrested in Los Angeles

Cold Case Fugitive Wanted for Crimes Against Children in Northern California Arrested in Los Angeles

A former northern California school teacher wanted for alleged crimes against children was arrested this morning in Los Angeles by members of the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force, announced David Bowdich, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and David Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.

Frank Joseph Montenegro, 52, a current resident of Los Angeles, was taken into custody following a foot pursuit and struggle with task force members this morning.

Montenegro, who had been residing at a community home in the Brooklyn Heights section of Los Angeles, is currently in state custody in Los Angeles awaiting transfer to the custody of officials in Alameda County, California.

According to a federal criminal complaint filed in United States District Court in San Francisco on August 15, 2001, Montenegro was charged by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office on July 25, 2001, following an investigation by detectives with the Fremont Police Department. Montenegro was charged with multiple counts of sodomy of a child under 14 years of age against the victim’s will; oral copulation; and the continued sexual abuse of a minor. At the time, Montenegro had been working as an elementary school teacher. After investigators had established that Montenegro fled across the southern United States border to Mexico, the FBI was asked to assist in finding him. The federal complaint charged Montenegro with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution (UFAP).

Montenegro had remained a fugitive until today when the FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles followed up on a tip received at the Los Angeles Police Department indicating that the federal fugitive had been residing locally for several years. Montenegro’s case had been profiled at Northern California’s Most Wanted Website.

Members of the task force took Montenegro into custody after he initially fled on foot and struggled with ensuing task force members, some of whom received superficial injuries.

The FBI’s Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles is composed of agents and officers with the FBI; the Los Angeles Police Department; and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Parole Division.

The fugitive investigation was conducted by agents assigned to the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office and detectives with the Fremont Police Department.

Montenegro is being held in state custody in Los Angeles and is expected to be transferred to northern California this week for an arraignment on the state’s charges. It is anticipated that the United States government will dismiss the federal warrant charging Montenegro with UFAP and that he will be prosecuted by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.